Global reach. It has recently come to my attention that there are all sorts of academics out there that don’t read your academic articles either. (HT @ernestopriego) They are your audience. They are engaged in the academic debates that you are engaged in. And they can’t get access to your articles because the funding situation in their institution is even worse than it is wherever you are.
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What yoga has taught me about life, writing, and work
I practice yoga. And it occurred to me recently that yoga really influences how I work with clients. Your post-Enlightenment self has probably put yoga in a box with running, weight training, pilates, and aerobics. And I suspect some yoga classes are like that. I’ve been fortunate to have taken yoga classes with folks who […]
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Email is not urgent
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Email is not urgent Do not start an email with this sentence or any variation on it: “Sorry for the delay in replying” You are busy. Your inbox gets full. Sometimes it takes a while to get back to people. Sometimes you miss something and notice it 2 weeks […]
Read More »Criticism & perfectionism
One of my favorite quotes is by Samuel Silas Curry, a turn of the century speech teacher, “There is nothing so encouraging as good criticism.” He goes on to say that good criticism simply compares the actual with the ideal. Vicky@collegeparentcentral commenting on my post Confidence in the Face of Criticism Thank you for sharing […]
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Confidence in the face of criticism
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Confidence in the face of criticism I received a request via Twitter DM. Have u any tips on academic speaking eg @ q & a time @ conferences. How can I gain confidence and speak with conviction in the face of criticism? As it happens I do have thoughts […]
Read More »Tough decisions: turning down a job offer
Sometimes I help clients decide whether to turn down a job. Yes, that’s right. Even in this tough labour market some of my clients are deciding not to take jobs. These aren’t easy choices to make. I’ve written before about how you are not desperate. That post focused on applying for the right jobs. What […]
Read More »Making sense of the cuts
There has been a lot of head shaking, confusion and anger in the wake of the recent Canadian federal budget. Academics value evidence, reason, and rational argument. The cuts just don’t make sense. What happens if we turn the question around? How do we make sense of what appear to be nonsensical policies? The Conservative […]
Read More »Just because it doesn’t feel productive…
A couple of my clients are working on writing projects right now. And some weeks, their updates are less than enthusiastic. They are discouraged by their progress.
Here’s a different angle on reading that doesn’t feel like real research.
You might spend a lot of time reading with a particular project in mind only to discover that nothing you read is going to end up in what you are writing.
Although that feels like you wasted several hours reading stuff you didn’t need to read, it was actually time well spent.
Read More »What is “research”?
In early 2012, Rohan Maitzen published a few very thoughtful posts about what counts are research, the apparent conflict between research and teaching, and related issues. One of these, “When is Reading Research?“, really highlights some of the underlying issues. When we talk about “doing research,” I think we conventionally mean reading in service of a […]
Read More »Academia is not a world apart
Most of the time when I sit down to write posts, I have a particular audience in mind. Most of my clients are tenured or tenure-track academics in the social sciences and humanities, or the equivalent. Sometimes I have specific individuals in mind when I write, even though I am writing about the issue because […]
Read More »Proactive professional development
Under no circumstances should you wait around for someone to notice what a good fit you would be for a particular role/position/committee and sponsor you out of the goodness of their heart.
The people with the power and influence to do that are very busy. They aren’t spending a lot of time looking around for hidden gems. Prepare your case and go to them.
Read More »Volunteer before you’re drafted
If your level of frustration with your working hours is more about what you are doing in them than how many of them you are working, how do you increase the proportion of your time spent doing things that are meaningful? Try this suggestion from the #femlead Twitter chat. (Which sadly doesn’t happen any more.) […]
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